Before purchasing the mp3 player the consumers will go through a decision making process. This can be seen in the diagram below:
The decision making process consists of 5 stages. In buying our mp3 player the first stage the consumer will step upon is the ‘problem recognition’. This is the difference between the consumer’s ideal and actual situation, thus the ideal situation will trigger the need for the mp3 player. In the case of our mp3 player the ideal situation may be having our mp3 player and the actual situation might be they currently have a CD player, thus the ideal situation is required and a need is recognised.
Information search details all the options available to the consumer. The consumer will search for the different mp3 players available on the market from all the manufacturers. This information can be gathered from internal and external sources. Internal sources would be the consumers past experiences with the product or brand however this may not be possible if the product has not been purchase before. External information sources could be friends and families, public sources i.e. Which? magazine and market dominated sources such as salespeople for the brands. As an mp3 player is a low financial risk product and requires limited decision making the information search will not be too in depth whereas on a high financial risk product such as a house where an extensive decision is required the information search will be in very in depth.
Cited from Lecture Notes
Once the information search is out of the way the evaluation of alternatives is made. This is the third stage. In this stage the consumer will search for which mp3 player offers the best value for money. They may set aside an evoked set of brands of mp3 players. An evoked set would consist of a shortlist of brands that the consumer wood deem acceptable.
The fourth stage would be making the purchase decision. This would involve which product to buy, where and when to buy. Where the purchase is made from may depend on the past experiences with the retailer, returns policy and the terms of sale. When the purchase is made might be determined by the atmosphere of the store, the shopping experience so far, time restrictions and if a sale is on.
The final stage would be the post-purchase evaluation. This is whether the expectations meet the outcomes for the consumer. The consumer will evaluate on the satisfaction of the product after purchase, value for money and so on. The first time an item is purchased it will be a trial purchase, if in this case the consumer likes it and has no cognitive dissonance the purchase may become repeat, maybe a gift for someone else and eventually a long term commitment, this is in the best case scenario.
The decision making process will differ according to the circumstances. For instance if a consumer purchases a gift for someone else then their problem recognition will be to find a gift. The other stages will also be different, for the third stage they may compare all the alternatives according to price and maybe look for the cheapest and the post purchase will be different if buying the item for a gift as they will not be able to use the item.
Socio-cultural and individual factors also play a big part on a consumer purchase decision. Socio-cultural factors vary from social status i.e. income, education to beliefs and values we follow.
Social Class a method of dividing the population into status groups as shown below:
As our secondary research indicated the biggest purchases of mp3 players were the C1, C2 classes with AB following close behind. These consumers have the most disposable income and so a link may occur between the purchase of mp3 players and income. The higher the income the more likely that an mp3 player is purchased. The table below demonstrates this:
The decision making process for these higher classes may be shorter and they may tend to make impulse purchases.
There are three forms of cultural learning:
Formal Learning – through family
Informal Learning – through friends
Technical Learning – School
Cultural beliefs may dictate whether or not to purchase an mp3 player. Such beliefs as mp3 players are bad for ears will deter consumers. Peer pressure from friends will create the opposite.
Cited from Lecture Notes
Individual factors associated with decision making include:
►Sex
►Age
►Ability
Cited from
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs can affect consumer purchase decisions:
Table obtained from
Through the purchase of an mp3 player one may feel a sense of belonging to a particular sub-culture i.e. friends or the self-esteem and confidence of the fact that they have an mp3 player and the respect of others i.e. school friends and families.
All elements mentioned play a major role in the decision making process however many external factors also play a role. Such external influences could be through marketing by companies to create awareness and perceptions.
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Bibliography
SCHIFFMAN, L. and KANUK, L. (2004) Consumer Behaviour. New Jersey: Pearson Education LTD.
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Anne Harbisher Lecture Notes
